Friday, December 12, 2014

Do you know how to avoid stuffing your face during the holidays? No? Well, neither do I! If you came here hoping for some advice about that particular problem, I'm sorry to disappoint you because I haven't got a clue.

This past week it was like I was possessed by a sugar-craving demon. It started innocently enough...I mentioned to my husband that I felt like a little treat. After a few moments I specifically mentioned that something like a dark chocolate bar might hit the spot. I envisioned having a few bites and leaving the rest for him.

What did he do? He brought home a humungous double chocolate cake/brownie thing from the supermarket. With icing. And extra chocolate bits inside the cake/brownie. So of course I had to at least sample it. I had a smallish piece and I thought that was that.

"Oh no, you don't!" said the cake. "You don't get off that easy. It's December and that means Christmas is coming and that means it's time to loosen your belt and let the calories fly!" I swear the cake was speaking to me. It told me to keep eating it until it was all gone. It took my husband and me a day to wipe that cake off the face of the earth. He'd have a piece, then I figured I deserved another, and so it went.

A day passed after the cake was no more. I was in the supermarket and I swear a "party tray" of goodies called my name as I passed by. Before I knew it, the party tray was hitching a ride in my grocery cart. I threw a bunch of carrots in there too just to feel a little better about things.

My husband had two little treats from the assorted goodies in the party tray. He said he felt like his face was vibrating afterwards...from the sugar, I guess. He very kindly left the rest of the goodies to me. One thing about party trays is that you have a fine selection of things from which to choose. It's like taste-testing and it's basically your job to compare and judge each treat to see which one you like best. Then you have to rate them in order of preference. Well, for me it's no contest, Nanaimo bars always come out on top. I'm not even sure if they're made anywhere besides in Canada. If not, you really should travel to Canada just to taste one because they're out of this world. Talk about a sugar rush though...wowee!

Right after I wiped out the party tray of little cakes and such, I was selling my wares at a craft market and of course the woman next to me was selling fruitcakes and cookies and this sort of thing. My husband dropped by and bought her last fruitcake. What I didn't mention to him was that I'd already bought a package of shortbread cookies from her and ate all four cookies.

Anyway, I'm swearing off all the sugar again. I'm going to straighten up and fly right for the rest of the holidays. I notice my immune system takes a dip whenever I get into the sugar like that and really, who needs it? Sugar is the devil in disguise, I'm convinced.

Thursday, December 11, 2014

Yesterday I told you about getting stuck in the rain when my van broke down on the side of the highway.

It wasn't just any old rain...we had two days of heavy rainfall warnings and wind warnings. It was actually scary to go to sleep the first night because the wind was gusting at about 90 kilometers per hour. Our house is surrounded by tall trees so it's a little nerve-wracking when the wind gets to blowing like that, as it often does in late fall and winter. I kept wondering how the Anna's hummingbird managed to stay on the branch...I'll bet he or she didn't get a very good night's sleep either. But he managed to survive several days of snow and below freezing temperatures a couple of weeks ago, so I imagine a little old wind warning doesn't phase him.

Anyway, we made it through o.k. and the power even stayed on, unbelievably. I read, however, that the lower Sunshine Coast had some flooding. One woman told me that it felt like a hurricane ripped through the area. Such is winter here on the coast. We don't get much of the white stuff but wind and rain...well, that's our specialty.

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Today I had the supremely fun experience of walking the dogs in a torrential downpour (during a so-called "rainfall warning"), then having my van die on me on the highway as we drove home.

Yes, it was big fun indeed! First the radio went off. Then the ABS (which I believe stands for auto brake system) light came on, followed by the seatbelt light (I was wearing mine). Then the rear windshield wiper started by itself and all the wipers slowed to a fraction of the speed they should've been, which of course wasn't enough to keep the driving rain off the windows. Then the van waited until we hit a dangerous curve before it decided to give up entirely. I was able to pull over just enough to get off the highway.

I called our local tow guy, Chad, who has helped me out before. Luckily he lives just around the corner from my enforced pit stop. He was kind of happy because he hadn't been called out in a couple of days. He told me it was probably the alternator. Chad towed my van back home and set it down next to my other van that's been sitting there, broken down, for a few months. Now I'm waiting for the local shop to get a new alternator in.

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

As of today, throw pillows are available from my online gallery. You can have a pillow made from any of my photographs, vintage collages or digital art. They come in a variety of sizes ranging from 14" x 14" to 26" x 26" in square size, and 20" x 14" in a rectangular shape. Just click on the links above to see any of the pillows pictured above or go to my gallery and click on any image that you like to see how it looks on a pillow.

I think I'm going to have to order a batch of these for myself...I love the look of them! If you're more into graphic type designs, check out my gallery of abstract and digital art which includes colorful mandalas...they look fantastic on pillows, if I do say so myself!

Monday, December 8, 2014

Hard to believe it's already December and Christmas is right around the corner. I've been selling my photography and jewellery at Christmas craft fairs since the beginning of November. For anyone who lives on the Sunshine Coast, my last craft fair of the season will be on Saturday, December 13th at the Seaside Centre in Sechelt, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. See you there!

I've been selling a lot of the above picture on wrapping paper through my Zazzle store, Fun Nature Photography. In fact, it's on the best seller list. Just click on the picture or link below if you want to check it out.

Friday, December 5, 2014

Yesterday I read on Facebook that a cougar had been spotted about 20 minutes from where I live. I've yet to run into one and I'm not sure I ever want to, even though it would make a great picture. This morning while walking my dogs down a forestry road, they started reacting big time to something about 10 feet away from us in the bush...and then I heard a twig snap. Just a little unnerving! The ferns and bushes were low enough that I know it wasn't a deer or elk in there. It could've been a coyote but I've also seen wolves and bobcats up there. What's bigger than a bread basket but smaller than a bush? Hmmm...

Anyway, I was so distracted (glancing over my shoulder as we continued on our walk) that I didn't see it until we headed back. Right there, in almost the exact spot where the dogs had smelled an animal, I saw $10 bill lying on the road. It was soggy and dirty, but whatever, it works for me!

I have a hard time hanging onto money though. I mostly spend it on books and courses. Aside from photography, learning and creating are probably my two favorite things to do. One thing I'll say though, I think I spend much less money on gear than the average photographer.

Thursday, December 4, 2014

I don't know about you but I could use a little color around this time of year. November and December are my least favorite months...it seems like it rains more than in any other months.

So to cheer myself up, and maybe you as well, I'm posting this photograph of bunches of orange, yellow, and red chrysanthemums that I took in ByWard Market (a well-known outdoor market) in Ottawa a couple of years ago. I played around with the picture using some Topaz filters to give them a slightly abstract look.

It's raining right now so I think I'll just gaze at my flowers for awhile longer. Sigh.

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Have you read any good books lately? I have a habit of reading three or four books at a time. I almost finish a book but something else will catch my fancy. One strange thing is that I haven't read a book of fiction in many years...the last time was when I was visiting Costa Rica and found myself kind of bored because I was there alone. Somebody had left behind "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy in the lodge where I was staying. If you ever want to feel suicidally depressed, read that book. Why I was reading it in a tropical paradise is beyond me. Here I was bawling my eyes out, alone in my room, when outside the door was a gorgeous beach and bright sunny days. The book won a Pulitzer but still...

I like to read non-fiction. I got halfway through "102 Minutes, The Untold Story of the Fight to Survive Inside the Twin Towers". Believe it or not, I started that book a few days before I was going to fly back east. But then "Proof of Heaven, a Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife" caught my eye in the Vancouver airport, so I started reading that on the plane. I was quite enjoying it and got very close to finishing it, except then I had a look at my Amazon wish list and couldn't resist buying "The Suitcase Entrepreneur". So that's what I'm reading now. Next up is "The Self Illusion, How the Social Brain Creates Identity", which is another book I bought in the airport (two books for $20, who could resist?) Actually, first I'll finish "Proof of Heaven".

The book has to be pretty captivating for me to finish it. The last one that I read all the way through and had me enthralled was a Canadian bestseller called "A House in the Sky" by Amanda Lindhout and Sara Corbett. I like books about strong women and let me tell you, Amanda Lindhout definitely fits that description. The first part is about her travels, and a good travel story is also something I enjoy. At times the book is tough to read because she goes through some brutal situations but her endurance and compassion are compelling. Check it out if you get a chance.

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Continuing on with my theme of birds in winter after posting about a hummingbird who's been showing up at the snow-covered feeder... Awhile ago I did a collage of various birds I've photographed over the years hanging out in the snow. We usually only get a couple of snowfalls each winter but when it happens, I try to take advantage of it and photograph as many birds as possible.

So in the collage above (starting from the bottom left) we have a stoic great blue heron, a Brewer's blackbird making a rare appearance, Steller's jay, northern (or red-shafted) flicker, chestnut-backed chickadee, spotted towhee, varied thrush, red-breasted nuthatch, snowy owl, downy woodpecker, American dipper, and in the center with snow on his cute little beak, the chickadee once again.

I photographed the hummingbird and also an eagle sitting on a snowy branch after I had made the collage...I guess I'll just have to start another collage now!

Monday, December 1, 2014

Technically speaking it isn't winter yet but I thought I'd share another photograph of an Anna's hummingbird braving the ice and snow. A couple of days ago I posted about our snow and resident hummingbirds.

The snow is sticking around since it's still close to freezing and the forecast is for possible snow flurries tonight. I feel sorry for these little birds but apparently they're able to tolerate the cold weather alright. I upped the amount of sugar in their nectar though. I still don't understand how they can survive with the lack of flowers and insects to snack on.

Sunday, November 30, 2014

O.K., let's get one thing straight right off the bat...I consider myself to be a decent wildlife photographer. But still life photography is a major challenge for me. In fact, I kinda suck at it.

Every once in awhile I give it a shot...I set up a still life subject, arrange the cheapo lights I bought one day when I was feeling particularly enthused, and give it a whirl. Nothing ever seems to work out that well and I often end up on the floor feeling wretched, trying to adjust my aching crooked neck.

This past summer I opened an Etsy shop called Coconut Joy Jewelry for my handmade coconut shell earrings. I had to face facts: I needed photographs of my earrings in order to do business. And it would be better if those photographs didn't suck too badly.

My first impulse was to photograph my earrings hanging against a plain white muslin cloth. This is what I'd done years before when I put together a catalog for my wholesale accounts. I'd sold my earrings to dozens of galleries across North America in years past and that catalog, which I updated through the years, had served me well.

Here's one of the first photographs I uploaded to my Etsy shop. I photographed the earrings like I'd done for my wholesale catalog years before.

Blue Coconut Shell Earrings

Kinda blah, right? I mean, you can see them clearly enough but I think the picture's pretty boring. It doesn't sell the earrings. It doesn't make them look sexy or inviting or anything.

There were other problems. I took my first pictures outdoors in natural light. One thing about our place is, we have very little flat ground. Another problem is, we live close to the ocean and there's very often at least a little breeze, if not a stiff wind. Having earrings bouncing around at a crooked angle doesn't bode well for trying to capture a good photograph with crisp details.

I decided I had to move indoors to photograph my earrings. Our place is pretty dark though, and there wasn't really enough light to photograph properly. I had to wait for sunny days to even get close to enough light to photograph indoors, and that was a problem.

So I switched from using my expensive Canon 7D camera with 100-400mm lens to using my recently-acquired iPhone 5. Here's the result...

This shot has way too much shadow and the set-up is still pretty boring. I still photographed a bunch of earrings this way though because I was kind of at a loss at that point. I didn't know what to do to make my pictures any better.

Eventually I switched to using my inexpensive wide angle macro zoom lens which I'd had for years. I added my Speedlite 430EX flash that had mostly sat in a drawer all these years. The flash definitely helped with the shadows. I tried varying my set-ups more to bring some interest to the earrings. This worked for awhile but my lens started malfunctioning and wouldn't focus properly. Time for a new lens.

So I bought a Sigma 18-250mm lens and I'm pretty happy with it. It does decent macro shots. I photograph my earrings by the window but I also use the Speedlite for fill flash. Here are a few shots taken with this set-up.

If you're in the same boat and trying to photograph your handcrafted work for your own Etsy shop, I'd suggest having a look around at your competitors to see whose photography you enjoy. I looked at other jewelry and noticed a definite trend of photographing jewelry against bowls and cups...I love that look but it didn't really suit my work. Since my earrings are made out of coconut shell, I went with a more tropical feel and use an assortment of shells and things like sand dollars and starfish.

I know a lot of people use their iPhones to photograph their crafts and I think that works quite well for the most part however my lighting conditions are so dismal that it wasn't the best idea for me. Photographing outside in natural light is a really good option...as long as you can pretty much rely on good weather conditions, which isn't really happening here in the Pacific Northwest.

Anyway, it's all a work in progress. I still prefer photographing moving, living subjects but it's a challenge that I'm feeling a little more capable of meeting these days.

Saturday, November 29, 2014

For the first year ever, I've had some Anna's hummingbirds coming to my feeders. Unbelievably, these tiny birds stay over the winter and face some challenging conditions, to say the least. Last night we got a couple of inches of snow and it covered the hummingbird feeder. That didn't stop this female hummer from enjoying an icy beverage though.

You might wonder how these tiny creatures can survive in such extreme conditions. In order to survive cold temperatures, hummingbirds can enter a state of torpor. This state is similar to hibernation but more short-term. Hummers drop their metabolic rate
to 1/50th of what it would be at their normal body temperature. While in a torpid state, the hummingbird’s heart ranges from 50 to 180 beats per minute...to give you a comparison, the normal heartbeat of an active hummer can be as high as 1200 beats per
minute. In a torpid state, a hummingbird's breathing becomes irregular, with
long periods of no breath at the lowest temperatures.

I usually get Rufous hummingbirds at our feeders but they leave in August in order to migrate all the way from Canada to Mexico, where they spend the winter. Now that's a sensible hummingbird!

But I do love the occasional snowfall and it seems my Anna's friend doesn't mind either. I can see her out there right now, doing double-time at the feeder in the hour before sunset. Tonight I think I'll take the hummingbird feeders in though so that my feathered friend can enjoy some warm nectar first thing in the morning.

Friday, November 28, 2014

For the next few days you can sail away with some great savings on any of the photographs and vintage collages in my online gallery. I'm offering 25% off until December 2nd...just type in the code BSGDFL at checkout to receive 25% off.

By the way, nature photography and vintage collages aren't the only things that I do. This past summer I opened an Etsy shop for my handmade coconut shell earrings...more about that in an upcoming post. For now, I just wanted to let you know that I'm also having a sale in my Etsy shop, Coconut Joy Jewelry. All my earrings are 10% off until December 2nd.

Thursday, November 27, 2014

I admit it, I'm a bit of a calendar freak. I ended up with four wall calendars this year. Two of them are mine and two of them are by other people. We don't have much room for wall art in our little place but I can always find room for a calendar!

So of course since I love calendars so much, I also love making them. I have 16 calendars for sale altogether. Most of them are from my Life Lessons series, where I add inspirational or funny captions to my nature photography. But I photograph some animals a lot so I end up with tons of pictures, and these animals get calendars all to themselves...these include calendars featuring hummingbirds, coyotes, owls, dragonflies, and one with a selection of some of my favorite nature photos.

I've been putting together calendars for my Life Lessons series for many years now. Here are a couple of them.

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

On days like this I wish I still drank coffee. I gave it up over a year ago but I could sure use a cuppa today. I probably shouldn't complain about the weather after hearing about Buffalo being buried under six or seven feet of snow...but I'm going to anyway.

Living in the Pacific Northwest takes a certain kind of fortitude once November is upon us. It's probably my least favourite month. Day after day of dismal grey skies and drizzling rain make my mood go south. This morning I woke up after a good night's sleep, had breakfast, but was too tired to go for a walk. Instead I feel asleep on the couch...for almost three hours! My husband came home from walking the dogs and I kept waking up and falling right back to sleep again. Total zombie time.

Last winter I think I finally made peace with the rain and went for long walks through the forest every other day. I think it's just the transition that I have a hard time with though. We were kind of spoiled this fall, with gorgeous sunny skies and warm temperatures. Now comes the reality of approaching winter.

So I'm very tempted to go back to my coffee-drinking ways. My problem isn't so much coffee though, it's the amount of sugar I dump in it. And I'm trying to avoid sugar too. Sigh. It's going to be a long winter.

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Sometimes I feel like I should have my laptop permanently attached to my body. I could have a screen sticking out from my forehead directly in front of my eyes and my hands could be glued to the keyboard at the wrist.

When I get to feeling like that, I know it's time to take a walk. Life is too short to be always sitting in front of a computer, or a TV, or what-have-you. I'm self-employed but I'm a terrible boss. I make myself work all the time. And a surprising amount of that work involves sitting in front of a computer.

So enough! The other day I decided to walk down to the ocean to check on the sea stars. As you may have heard, sea stars on the west coast have been dying off at an alarming rate, apparently the victims of some kind of virus, with warming waters a possible factor as well. This die-off was first noticed off the coast in British Columbia in September, 2013. It now extends along the Pacific coast into Oregon and California and in the summer of 2014, populations in Alaska and Mexico were affected as well. Whatever the cause, it has been named Sea Star Wasting Syndrome.

I happen to live by a gap where the ocean narrows and the tide rips through at a fast pace. It's been theorized that fast-moving waters are a more healthy environment for starfish, as sea stars are also called.

I only saw a few sea stars that day. How sad, when they used to be so abundant they were quite often literally piled on top of each other as you can see from the picture below, taken years ago.

Sea stars were enjoying a population boom before this die-off. And of course, nature has its ways of keeping everything in balance. I recently read an article that suggested baby starfish are now being seen and are possibly making a comeback. I sure hope that's true.

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Since my husband isn't too big on mowing the lawn, I decided to have a little fun with the dandelions that are growing in our yard. I photographed them using my Canon 500D closeup filter attached to my 100-400mm telephoto zoom lens. I really like using the 500D and usually carry it around in my backpack just in case I run into a good subject for macro photography. By the way, these closeup filters can be used on both Canon and Nikon lenses.

I especially love when I can create some bokeh in my photographs. The dandelion seedlings pictured above were backlit with some out-of-focus water drops creating the colorful circular pattern. The word "bokeh" comes from the Japanese language and means "blur" or "haze". If you want the points of light in your background or foreground to have that pleasing bokeh blur, be sure to set your lens to its largest aperture, such as f/2.8. On the 100-400mm lens my largest aperture is 4.5 to 5.6 (depending on how far my lens is extended) so I went with that.

I liked how the pastel hues came out in some of the water drops in the above dandelion photograph. For these images I was going for more of an artistic effect rather than razor-sharp details, so I even blurred some areas of the images in Photoshop.

In the picture below, shooting with the sun at a sharp angle created interesting and colorful streaks of light that reminded me of fireworks.

I really like the idea of photographing things right in my own backyard and I've always been fascinated by dandelions, not to mention flowers with water droplets. So I'm not going to get on my husband's case about cutting the grass anymore. Maybe we'll start a dandelion farm. I hear dandelion greens are good for you!

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

I went down to the ocean's edge at low tide last week. I like to go there to think sometimes. Yes, I can think anywhere I happen to be but there's something special about the thinking I get done when I'm close to the ocean. I think the salt air helps.

I've been thinking a lot about my mortality lately. You see, a friend of mine almost died the other day. All of a sudden he collapsed and stopped breathing. His girlfriend was sitting there with him when it happened. She was calling 911 when he stopped breathing. When he gained consciousness again she called my partner and he raced over there.

The hospital couldn't find anything wrong with him. Scary stuff.

Living in a small town, you're more likely to hear about it when someone dies. Many of my friends and acquaintances have died the past few years especially. You remind yourself that every day is precious and if you have a bucket list, you better start chipping away at it. Now. Today.

But you know what seems to happen? You just continue on with your same old routines. Maybe you make small changes, but unless you're very uncomfortable or threatened, it's usually the same old, same old.

Anyway, like I said, I went down to the water's edge to get my think on. I hadn't been there but a moment when I saw a movement out of the corner of my eye. It was a mother deer with her two twin fawns and they were climbing over boulders to get to the ocean.

It was one of those magic moments. I froze. It looked like the mother was either going to go for a swim (I've seen a mother and her fawns swimming there before), or maybe she was going to have a drink of water to get some salt on that hot morning.

Unfortunately one of the fawns was startled by a noise from above and she ran off, followed by her sibling. Although they ran right towards me, I dared not move a muscle for fear of scaring them even more. They were about 12 feet away and didn't even seem to notice me. Eventually the family wandered off into the bordering forest, forgetting that moments before they were running in fear.

I'd like to be more like those deer. You react when you're in danger and then you forget about it. You live for the moment. You stay in the present time, forget about the past, and don't fret about the future. That's the ideal, anyway. It isn't easy though. I'm constantly bringing myself back to the present moment. I'm trying to savor even the seemingly ordinary moments when nothing "special" is happening.

I'm starting to think that even so-called ordinary moments can carry the seed of magic within them. Every moment can be a magic moment.

Monday, August 11, 2014

This past weekend the 19th Annual Sleepy Hollow Road Run and Show 'n Shine took place in Sechelt, B.C. Cowrie Street was closed off so that they could line the road with antique cars. Every Saturday from April through September the rest of the street is closed off for the Sechelt Farmers' and Artisans' Market. As you can see from the picture above, the two events are quite popular and draw a huge crowd. The canopies from the farmers' market are in the foreground and I was selling my photography and jewelry, as usual. Yes, the place was hopping!

Cowrie Street, Sechelt, British Columbia

I didn't get much of a chance to photograph the classic cars this year but last year I spent a little more time with some of those timeless beauties. Even though I usually photograph wildlife, I really enjoy taking pictures of vintage cars...their sleek lines remind me why automobiles are often named after animals.

Here's a shot of the hood ornament from a 1935 series 58 Buick Victoria that I sold as a very large canvas print earlier this year. This was photographed at last year's Pender Harbour Show and Shine held in Garden Bay. This car show is in a more intimate setting, surrounded by the ocean and forests, and conveniently right next door to the Garden Bay Pub!

If you're into cars, please have a look at my collection of classic cars that are available for purchase through my third party printer, Fine Art America. Prints are available on archival paper, canvas, and metal, and there are an impressive number of matting and framing options available.